A BOT report confirms that private sector investment and
export growth rate have slowed. The service industry is showing dropping
trends even though recently both Thai and foreign tourists have changed
their destinations to the North from the South of the country, due to the
unrest there. Another result blamed upon the rising oil prices is the
reduced hotel occupancy rates from 45 percent to 40 percent. Room prices
average out at 870 baht per room which is similar to last yearís prices.

Even the registration of automobiles has fallen by around
9 percent over the same period last year which includes both saloon cars and
pick-ups.

On the right side of the ledger, exports through Northern
customs points increased by almost 14 percent over 2004 with a 203 million
USD export value, of which 141.3 million USD passed through the Northern
Industrial Region Customs point, being mainly electronic goods. The total
value of electric circuit breakers passing through Chiang Mai airport
increased by 24 percent to 16.4 million USD.

Consumer goods exports to Laos tripled through fuel
exports. Exports to Southern China doubled to 6.9 million USD mainly on
agricultural exports, rubber sheets and strips, but towards the end of the
month China reduced orders on rubber due to price rises.

Imports increased over 2004 by 7.5 percent to 127 million
USD, 118.4 million USD imports passed through the Northern Industrial region
Customs point, 6.4 million at border checkpoints. This gave Thailand a trade
surplus of 76 million USD an increase over the same period last year of 25.6
percent.

Thailand to seek tax reduction on fruits exported to China

Thailand will open discussion with China to find ways for
a tax reduction on Thai fruits to China.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Khunying Sudarat
Keyuraphan said the current rate, which was raised from US$ 0.6 to US$ 1.20
- 1.80 per basket, has caused an increase in the cost of Thai fruits on the
Chinese market.

The minister said there is a high demand for Thai fruits
in Guangdong province. More than 100 containers of Thai fruits are exported
daily to the Chinese market in that province, and it is hoped the higher tax
wonít discourage this.

The ministry has assigned the Marketing Organization for
Farmers to deal with planned direct sales with more major markets in China.

Meanwhile, it has maintained its quality control to
ensure the standard of Thai produce. All exported products have to be
certified by an international standardized system - GAP (Good Agricultural
Practices). (TNA)

Only three energy saving measures proposed to Cabinet

The Ministry of Energy proposed only three energy
conservation measures to the cabinet for a final approval, according to a
senior Energy Ministry official.

The three measures, proposed before the cabinet at its
weekly meeting last Tuesday, included shortening service hours at petrol
stations, switching off neon billboards and providing certain parking lots
for taxis at shopping centres, bus terminals and train stations to reduce
their empty-trips, said the permanent secretary for energy, Cherdpong
Siriwit.

"The shorter service hours of petrol stations, from
being closed from midnight to 5 a.m. to closing them from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.,
will help reduce fuel use by 5 percent. However, petrol stations on main
highways will still be allowed to open until midnight to facilitate
commercial trucks running across provinces," he told journalists.

"Switching off neon billboards at 9 p.m. and
providing certain parking spaces for taxis at shopping malls and transport
terminals to reduce fuel waste from their empty-trips are also believed to
help save a lot of energy," he added.

Cherdpong confirmed that other proposed measures,
including announcing every Monday as an additional weekly holiday, while
extending office hours on Tuesdays to Fridays by two more hours, as well as
imposing more excise duties on vehicles with engines larger than 1800 CC and
stopping TV broadcasts at midnight, were not tabled before the cabinet on
July 11.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Energy talked of
submitting a wider package of 12 energy conservation measures before the
cabinet, including the change of working hours and days, the increase in
excise tax levied on the larger vehicles and the shorter TV service hours.

"We proposed only the three measures, out of 12
earlier worked out jointly by the Ministries of Energy and Finance, as we
donít want the energy saving drive to affect employment in the business
sector and the overall Thai economic prospects," said the senior energy
ministry official. (TNA)

The project, when completed, will help boost trade,
investment and tourism between Thailand and several other countries in the
region, according to analysts.

Thailand and other 31 countries in the region signed an
agreement on the joint development of the Asian Highway Network in Chinaís
Shanghai city in April last year.

The inter-governmental deal for the 141,000 km land
transport project, linking Asia with Europe, has been effective since July
4.

The construction of the regional road-link in the
respective countries can now begin. (TNA)

BOT to issue new 1,000 baht note

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) plans to issue a new 1,000
baht banknote later this year.

The new 1,000 baht note, embedded with a hologram, will
be issued in November, aimed mainly at addressing the problem of note
forgeries, according to the managing director of BOTís Note Printing
Works, Nopporn Pramojaney.

"Most fake notes have been found in border
provinces. Most of them were 500 and 100 notes in the past. The issuance of
the banknotes with a hologram has helped address the problem," he said.

"Forgers have recently produced and distributed more
fake 1,000 baht notes. The central bank will, therefore, issue the new 1,000
baht note with a hologram to solve the same problem," he added.

A hologram is a unique photographic printing that
provides a three-dimensional effect on a flat surface.

Holograms cannot be easily copied and are used for
security and aesthetic purposes on banknotes or cards.

The proportion of banknote forgeries in Thailand is only
0.1 : 1,000,000 notes, far less than the 60-70 : 1,000,000 notes in the
United States and Europe, according to Nopporn. (TNA)